Anne Brontë (1820 – 1849) may be less known to readers than her sisters, Charlotte and Emily, but her contribution to English literature was significant. Following is a sampling of quotes by Anne Brontë from Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, the only published novels of this talented novelist and poet who died at age twenty-nine.
Anne was born in Thornton, West Yorkshire, the daughter of Patrick Brontë, a clergyman, and Maria Branwell. Anne grew up in Haworth, an isolated town on the moors of Yorkshire.
She was one of six siblings raised by her father after the death of their mother. The two oldest sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, died of illness at early ages, leaving Anne, the youngest, followed by Branwell, Emily, and Charlotte. Read More→
Frances Hodgson Burnett began writing at the young age of sixteen to help the family out with finances after the death of her father. Through depression and illness, Burnett found inspiration for her work and often spent time in her garden.
A Little Princess (1904) is the story of Sara Crewe, a young girl who loses everything dear to her. When she arrives at the private English boarding school as the richest and best-dressed girl, she’s treated like a little princess.
She gets the prettiest room, her own pony, a maid to wait on her, and the cloying attention ofMiss Minchin, the headmistress. Read More→
“Scarlett O’Hara had an arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw. Her eyes were pale green, and above them her thick black brows slanted upward, cutting a startling oblique line in her magnolia-white skin …”
This search for an actress to portray Scarlett O’Hara in what was to become the 1939 film of Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel, Gone With the Wind, was born of necessity.
Before he could make his deal with MGM for the loan of Clark Gable, David O. Selznick was required to fulfill his contract with United Artists for a number of films. Thus he was unable to begin production on Gone With the Wind until two and a half years after he had purchased the rights to the book. Read More→
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 – 1861), the English romantic poet, demonstrated an early aptitude for her future calling — she began reading novels at age six, and wrote her first significant poem at about age seven.
By age eleven, she wrote a four-volume poem, The Battle of Marathon (1820), privately published by her father.
At age fifteen, Elizabeth contracted the mysterious illness that would become her lifelong battle. It left her frail and in constant pain. It has been suggested by her biographers that the strong opiate medication given to her might have augmented her already fiercely vivid imagination that was evident in her evocative poetry. Read More→
Pearl S. Buck (1892 – 1973) was the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. As a child, she grew up in China, which influenced writings and world view. Always a humanitarian, ever a feminist, here are inspirational quotes by Pearl S. Buck for you to ponder and enjoy.
Pearl Buck started multiple foundations, including the East West Foundation, the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, and the Welcome House. (photo at right courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
She received the Pulitzer Prize and Howells medal for her most widely read novel, The Good Earth. But it’s a disservice to readers to stop at this much-studied classic. See her incredibly prolific bibliography.
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It’s always fascinating to come upon a review by one classic author of the work of another. In this case, Dorothy Parker’s review of Ice Palace by Edna Ferber (1957), one of her behemoth later novels, gets the acid-penned treatment.
Of the two authors, Parker is the one who has been more enduring; in their time, Ferber was one of the richest, most successful writers of the mid-twentieth century, something to which Parker hilariously eludes.
Keep in mind that when Ice Palace was published in 1957, Alaska was not yet a state (that would imminently happen in 1959). Read More→
Anna Sewell (1820 – 1878) published only one book — Black Beauty — but what a book it was. At age 14, she fell while walking home from school and broke both of her ankles.
The treatment was shoddy, and she never fully recovered. For the remainder of her life she was unable to stand or walk for very long, and endured a great deal of pain.
Having become dependent on horse-drawn carriages to get around, Anna developed an empathy for the horses. Anna grew to love and care deeply about them, as well as that of all of animals. The treatment of horses she observed all around her was often less than humane. Read More→
From the 1945 Harcourt, Brace, and World edition: In Delta Wedding, Eudora Welty brings into an immediate focus a memorable family, living in the rich Delta land Mississippi in the early 1920s.
“The day was the 10th of September, 1923 — afternoon. Laura McRaven, who was in nine years old, was on her first journey alone. She was going to visit her mother’s people, the Fairchild’s, at the plantation named Shellmound …”
Shellmound was the simple white house filled with the magnificent cousins, like a white bowl spilling over with bright flowers. Read More→
